


Both Sides Now

by LadyMeropeRiddle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Dumbledore, Deathly Hallows, F/M, Horcruxes, Manipulative Dumbledore, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-08-27 21:17:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16710181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMeropeRiddle/pseuds/LadyMeropeRiddle
Summary: Desperate times called for desperate measures. When the wizarding world is at the brink of losing the war, Hermione Granger decided to play her final card. However, she got more than she bargained for when her plan backfired unexpectedly.As she was thrust into a different world, Hermione truly discover many unforeseen consequences as a result of her plan. She should have known that 'bad things happened to those who meddled in time'. Nonetheless, she planned to make the best of it by creating a brighter future. She had no idea that she will also discover love along the way, where she managed to steal the heart of one of the greatest wizard of all time through her conduct.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers,
> 
> This story took shape in my mind after I watched Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
> 
> I was intrigued by the plot of the story, and decided to try my hand at writing a story about Dumbledore and Grindelwald in their younger days. I hope to explore Dumbledore's dark side in this story, and it would be interesting to develop his character in this aspect, something I always wanted to do since I read about his relationship with Grindelwald in Deathly Hallows.
> 
> To add spice to the plot, I decided to put one of the golden trios in my story.
> 
> I think that this has never been done before by anyone, and it will be interesting to see the responsed that I will receive by trying my hand at it.
> 
> Do let me know whether you liked my idea. Comments are always appreciated.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> xxxx Lady Merope Riddle xxxx

Prologue

2nd May 1998

Hermione Granger started to run the moment she apprated to Godric’s Hollow. Her boyfriend, Ronald Weasley, apprated beside her a few seconds later and took her hand. Both of them sprinted in the direction of Bathilda Bagshot’s cottage.

“Hermione,” said Ron. “Are you sure about this?”

“We need to try it,” said Hermione. “It’s our only hope, now that Harry’s…Harry’s…”

She held back a sob.

“Dead,” said Ron flatly.

“Well,” said Hermione. “We’ll change it then.”

The streets were quiet and deserted. All of the Death Eaters who usually patrolled the streets in case the golden trio turned up had left to join the battle at Hogwarts.

“Are you sure that we can go back as far as 1926?” asked Ron, panting slightly.

“Yes,” said Hermione. “The time turner I saw in Bathilda’s cottage is a custom made one. I actually researched it thoroughly after I saw it, and according to the Time Travel Encyclopaedia, custom time turners can usually turn back time up to a century, as they were designed for a specific purpose.”

“What if it’s not there anymore?” asked Ron.

“I have actually hidden it before I left, the last time I was here. Let’s hope that the Death Eaters have not ransacked the place. Otherwise, this will be no good at all,” said Hermione. “This way. It’s just beyond this gate. Second last house on the left.”

They turned into the street and approached the cottage.

Hermione saw that its condition had worsened. The front door was hanging on its hinges. Window panes were missing, and shattered glass and debris from the attack last December were scattered everywhere

“So, this is the great Bathilda Bagshot’s house,” said Ron in awe, as Hermione checked to make sure that they were indeed alone.

“All clear,” said Hermione quietly. “The dark magic surrounding this place has also been removed.”

“No surprise there. The action is at Hogwarts, not here,” said Ron, as both of them stepped into the cottage.

Their nose was at once assaulted by the terrible stench of rotten meat and vegetables. There was also a damp and musty smell in the air.

“This way,” said Hermione, as she lead the way into the front hall. She approached a huge bookshelf, and selected a heavy tome from the middle of the shelf.

“Are you telling me that you hid it in a book?” asked Ron, his lips curving up into a smile. “How come I am not surprised?”

Hermione winked at Ron fondly before placing the book down on the floor.

With a quick movement, Hermione slashed her wand on her palm, making a small cut. Ron gasped as Hermione pulled the book towards her and started to stroke the spine of the book using her injured palm. Her blood seeped into the spine of the dusty book.

Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then, Ron stared in disbelief as the spine of the book parted, revealing a small round compartment.

“Ah, here it is,” said Hermione with triumph, reaching into the compartment and pulled out a time turner.

“Wicked,” said Ron. “Where did you even learn to do that sort of magic? It’s quite advance.”

“Got the idea from You-Know-Who,” said Hermione. “The blood magic used in the cave where the locket was hidden thingy.”

Ron smiled affectionately at her. Hermione’s talents never failed to amaze him.

They examined the time turner together. It was rather an unusual one. Unlike other time turners, it was slightly bigger and heavier. Runes were carved on both sides of the time turner. According to Hermione, the Runes were actually instructions on how to operate the time turner.

“I had memorised this by heart after translating it,” said Hermione. “Don’t worry, Ron. I know what to do.”

She turned the time turner over and scrutinised it thoroughly, in order to make sure that she did not miss anything.

“Hello? What’s that?” asked Ron, as he pointed to something inscribed on the back of the time turner.

Hermione held it up closely and examined it.

“It’s a signature, I think,” she said. “Probably the signature of the time turner’s maker.”

“PWBD?” asked Ron. “Who’s that?”

“No idea,” said Hermione. “Probably someone gave this to Bathilda as a present, or Bathilda actually ordered a custom made time turner, to study about the history of the wizarding world, hence the signature. I must say that we’re lucky to come across this unique piece. After all, there are no more time turners in the wizarding world now. Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time.”

“Okay,” said Ron. “So, we will be travelling back in time to the year 1926, when You-Know-Who is born. We’ll kill him and then leave.”

“Yes,” said Hermione. “It says here that it can guarantee that we will be able to return to this time period after we time travelled back to the moment we wanted.”

“Let’s hope everything worked out. I hoped that our action will not impact the history of the wizarding world greatly.”

“Well, we never know. It will be a risk that we must take. Let’s hope everything turns out fine. I can’t even imagine a world without You-Know-Who in it. Harry will be living with his parents, Sirius will be alive, just imagine that!” said Hermione.

“Yes,” said Ron. “This is definitely a risk worth taking. Anything that we can do to save Harry is worth more than anything else in the world.”

“Always,” said Hermione softly.

“Half a turn equals one year. So, we need 31 turns in order to go back sixty-two years,” said Hermione.

Hermione was just getting ready to place the chain of the time turner over them when there was a loud “pop”.

“Shit,” Ron cursed. “They must have put up some undetectable traces around this place. What shall we do?”

“Let’s just get on with it,” said Hermione hurriedly.

She was just about to give the time turner the first turn when there was a loud bang behind them.

They heard the door breaking from its hinges, crashing onto the floor, and splintering into pieces. Dust rose into the air, and Hermione’s vision blurred as shards of glass flew in all directions, as a result from another loud explosion. Probably one of the Death Eaters had sent a curse at them, trying to detect their current location.

“It’s no use,” said Ron. “Listen, Hermione. I’ll try to distract them. You get on with the plan.”

“No! I don’t want to lose you,” said Hermione.

“Listen to me,” Ron said urgently. “You know how to work this out, I don’t. If you managed to change history, it will be a better place for all of us.”

“But….” Hermione hesitated. “What about us? You promised…”

Hearing a sound behind them, both of them turned.

They saw two hooded and masked figures striding into the cottage, sneering maliciously.

“You promised….” Said Hermione again.

There was another crash as the Death Eaters advanced into the front hall.

“I know,” said Ron. “I’m sure we’ll meet again in the future, when you return. We will be happy then, I promised. I’ll always remember you, Hermione. Does this for me, for Harry, and for the wizarding world, will you?”

Tenderly, he brushed a few stray curls away from her face. Their eyes met before both of them turned away.

“I’ll make sure that you keep your promise,” said Hermione.

“Aha,” said a drawling voice behind them. “What do we have here?”

“Go, Hermione,” said Ron, pushing her behind him hurriedly.

Hermione could not move. She was trembling with fear as Ron started to duel with the masked Death Eaters. With tremendous effort, Hermione crouched behind the large bookshelf.

“Fight me, you fools,” Ron bellowed. “What’s wrong with your snake-faced master? Too frightened to fight a blood traitor like me? Pooh!”

“Shut your gob, blood traitor!” snarled one of the Death Eaters. “You’ll be killed before you know it, and our master will reward us for this. After you, we’ll find and kill the mudblood next.”

“Yes, yes. All in good time. Hem, hem,” said the second masked figure. Her voice was girlie and sweet, and Hermione’s heart sank. Of all people, they are going to suffer at the hands of that ugly good-for-nothing toad of a woman.

“Fuck off, Umbridge!” said Ron, sending a stunner her way. Umbridge just cackled madly and blocked the curse.

Ron sent the Sectumsempra curse at Umbridge, glancing over his shoulder at the same time.

“Go!” he mouthed frantically at Hermione when he saw her head peeking out from behind the shelf.

Unfortunately, Umbridge had caught Ron glancing behind and her gaze travelled over to the direction that Ron just looked at.

She smirked.

“Ah, Weasley,” said Umbridge softly, as she managed to block Ron’s curse with ease. “I believe that you’ve got a friend with you. I think some introduction is necessary.”

“Stop talking nonsense, woman,” said Ron, trying to distract Umbridge. “There’s no one here except me.”

“Indeed,” said Umbridge slowly. Then, without warning, she raised her wand and pointed it at the bookshelf.

“Reducto!” she shrieked, and the shelf smashed into splinters. Thuds could be heard as books flew off the shelf and landed everywhere.

Hermione knew that there was no time to lose.

She hastily stepped away from the shelf, before it collapsed on her. By doing so, she was now directly in Umbridge’s line of vision.

“Ah,” said Umbridge in her sickly sweet voice. “Good evening to you, Miss Granger. Pleased and honour that you could join us.”

Hermione ignored Umbridge. Instead, she hastily started to turn the dial of the time turner.

It took about a few seconds for Umbridge to realise what Hermione was up to, as Ron had continued to distract Umbridge in order to give Hermione the chance to carry out the plan.

Hermione was on her eighth turn when she heard Umbridge utter an exclamation. By then, she could feel a strong wind billowing around her.

“Stop her! Stop her!” she heard Umbridge’s high-pitched voice, which was laced with panic.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated hard and managed to give the time turner another two turns.

“Only twenty-one more turns,” said Hermione.

Umbridge’s voice was getting fainter and fainter as the wind around her gets stronger. Hermione tried hard to keep her feet on the ground. Colours started to blur around her.

She could also feel something claw-like gripping her tightly around her shoulders.

Suddenly, there was a blast, which knocked Hermione off balance. She crashed to the ground, her breath was knocked out of her.

She opened her eyes in panic. She hoped that nothing was wrong.

And then she saw it.

A jet of green light was heading in her direction. She looked up in time to see the triumph smirk on Umbridge’s face.

The last thing she heard Umbridge said was: “Think you are so clever, didn’t you? You think that I, Delores Umbridge won’t be able to destroy you? All I need to do is hold on to you, which, for ordinary wizards would be a difficult thing to achieve. But, for me, Delores Umbridge, this is very easy indeed. I can follow you through time and kill you before you accomplish your goal.”

Before Hermione could give the time turner another turn, which she desperately tried to do, the curse slammed into her chest.

Her body was assaulted with hot searing pain as the time turner exploded and the glass cut into her skin. She could smell the blood without touching it. She felt herself spinning uncontrollably. Visions blurred in front of her eyes.

“Is this what death feels like?” she wondered quietly.

She tried to stay conscious, but her brain felt rather tired suddenly. Slowly, she closed her eyes and tumbled into oblivion. She could feel herself tumbling down, down, down and down an endless dark abyss.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers,.
> 
> I hereby give you Chapter 2!
> 
> Happy reading and please feel free to leave comments. Your reviews are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Cheers  
> xxx Lady Merope Riddle xxx
> 
> Thank you to those who left Kudos and comments.

Chapter 1

 

2nd May 1899

Bathilda Bagshot hummed merrily as she walked towards her cottage. She had a most productive afternoon, and nothing will ever spoil her good mood today, or so she thought.

She had completed the final chapter of her book, “A History of Magic last month and she had owled the manuscript to several publishers. She had received countless rejection letters, which informed her that her book was not worth their time, as history is the most boring and mundane subject, and that no one will probably want to read about the wizarding world’s history. Those letters had left her in depression, and she had been looking for ways to improve her writing to make it more interesting so that it would appeal to readers of all ages.

Everything had changed last night.

Bathilda continued to hum as she approached her cottage. There was a spring in her step, as she recalled the happenings of last night.

Last night, she had received a personal correspondence from the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Phineas Nigellus Black, informing her that Professor Binns, the History of Magic professor at Hogwarts had read her manuscript and deemed the content suitable to be published as a Hogwarts textbook. She had spent her day today meeting both the Headmaster and Binns, wherein praise was given to her work. She was also given the assurance that her book will now be the main History of Magic text used in the Hogwarts curriculum.

She was bursting with elation. To think that she will be able to play an active role in the education of future witches and wizards at Hogwarts! She would be famous in no time at all.

She planned to owl her friends and relatives the moment she reached home. She simply could not keep the excitement to herself any longer.

Of course, Kendra Dumbledore should be the first one to know. After all, she would not be able to work on her book without the help of Percival Dumbledore, Kendra’s late husband.

Bathilda sighed sadly as she stepped into her cottage. She was always fond of Percival. Percival was the greatest inventor she had ever known. It was Percival who had invented a custom time turner for her, allowing her to travel through time and research the history of the wizarding world thoroughly. The tragedy that bestowed Percival and his family deeply saddened her.

Bathilda could still remember the last time she ever laid eyes on Percival. He looked haggard and tired. He had apprated to her cottage, telling her what he wished her to do before hurriedly apprating away. And Bathilda had never failed her dear friend. As requested, she had assisted Percival’s family, Kendra in particular to live through the first few years following Percival’s arrest.

She had developed a rather close relationship with the Dumbledore family. Yet, she could feel that they were still holding back something from her; something that they tried to hide. She respected their need for privacy, and did not attempt to pry into their affairs. However, sometimes her curiosity got the better of her, and when she started asking suspicious questions, the whole family would avoid her until she apologised and promised not to meddle in their affairs further.

Bathilda roused herself from her musings. She should go directly to the Dumbledore’s house next door. Kendra seemed to be down lately, and Bathilda hoped that sharing the good news with her will raise Kendra’s spirits. She would even show Kendra the time turner that Percival had made for her, telling Kendra that Percival had done a great favour to the wizarding world by this invention, as future witches and wizards would have an opportunity to learn about the history of magic through her book, which production would not be possible without said wonderful invention.

Smiling to herself, Bathilda moved her huge bookcase aside and removed a loose floorboard.

“Time to show you off to Kendra, my beauty,” she said.

She had a great shock when she put her hand into the hollow space. The time turner was gone.

“How?” she asked herself. She was puzzled. There was no sign of breaking and entering, as everything else in her cottage was in order.

“Perhaps I had misplaced it,” she said. She tried to remember the last time she used the time turner. It had been a month ago, she supposed. She travelled to 1855, to research on the Goblin Rebellion.

Absent-mindedly, she started to remove books from her huge bookcase. She could not lose the time turner. She would need to use it in future times, to continue with her research. Now that her writing career had just kicked off, this was a critical moment for her. Losing the time turner would be a huge setback indeed.

“Accio time turner,” she said with desperation in her voice, waving her wand frantically. She waited eagerly for the hourglass to materialise and drop into her trembling hands. Nothing happened.

She tried the spell again. Still, nothing happened.

She resumed to toss things aside like a madwoman. There was an empty and hollow feeling at the pit of her stomach. How could she lose the time turner of all things?

“Someone must have stolen it,” she decided finally, after a thorough search was made. “How clever of them. I could not even detect any spells. But, I am the only one who knows about the time turner. How…” 

She needs to retrieve the time turner before it was too late. If the device falls into the hands of someone dangerous, the consequences will be unthinkable, as the time turner will be exploited to achieve certain means which would be undesirable.

She needs to plan her move carefully. She could not report this to the Ministry of Magic, as possessing a time turner without license is a crime punishable with ten years imprisonment in Azkaban. Only the Ministry of Magic is allowed to keep time turners in the Department of Mysteries, and those time turners were highly protected and guarded, to avoid them from falling into wrong hands.

She needs to trace the last location of the time turner in order to trace the thief. She would need to work fast, as there was no time to lose. However, the trouble is, she was only an average witch, and casting complicated spells will be out of her loop. She would need to enlist the help of someone who was an accomplished witch or wizard; someone trustworthy, who will keep her secret.

She knew the perfect person to carry out this task.

He was an accomplished wizard after all.

She just hoped that she will be in time to carry out her plan.

Smiling, Bathilda flicked her wand, and the messy cottage was immediately tidy.

After brewing a pot of strong peppermint tea, Bathilda sat down on her huge work desk and composed a letter:

Dear Gellert,

Hope you are doing well.

I would like to invite you to tea this afternoon. Other than for old time’s sake, I would like you to assist me in a matter of great importance. Owing to the urgency of the situation, I would appreciate it if you will send an immediate reply.

Love  
Aunt Betty

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Aberforth Dumbledore dusted himself thoroughly after emerging from the fireplace. Travelling by Floo powder was not preferable for him, but he had no choice this time.

His mother’s letter had worried him. He had decided to return home for the weekend to ease his worries. Of course, his brother did not offer to accompany him. According to him, he was “too busy with NEWTs preparations” and “it’s probably nothing. She’ll get over it, Aberforth”.

Aberforth did not care what Albus thought of him returning home. Albus was too self-centred and selfish. The world only revolved around him. He did not even give a damn about his family. He only cared about himself; his education, his career, his friends, his reputation.

Aberforth tried to supress his thoughts as he looked around the cheerful and tidy living room of his home. No, he would not think about Albus. Thinking of Albus would make him unhappy and angry, and he wanted to look his best in front of his sister.

He adored Ariana. He loved her dearly. She was the sweetest thing that one could possibly get to know, in his opinion. He felt relaxed and completely at ease around her.

His sister liked him best. He could just picture her shy and sweet smile whenever he was back from Hogwarts for the holidays. They were very close, and Aberforth thought that they understood each other perfectly well.

Smiling fondly at the various happy times they spent together, Aberforth climbed the spiralling staircase leading up to the family bedrooms.

As he approached the landing, he could hear his mother’s voice, speaking gently to Ariana.

Aberforth approached his sister’s bedroom and pushed the door open after knocking softly.

His mother looked up as he stepped into the room. She was brushing Ariana’s long and flowing auburn hair, stroking it tenderly as she do so.

“Hello darling,” said Kendra, smiling at Aberforth. “I thought I heard something downstairs just now. You shouldn’t have come back. It’s nothing. I already handled it.”

“Hello mother,” said Aberforth, kissing the top of his mother’s head gently.

At the sound of his voice, Ariana turned and looked up at him. Her blue eyes light up when she saw him, and she smiled happily.

“Hello sweetheart,” he said, beaming at her. “How are you feeling? Mother told me that you caught a cold last night.”

“She’s much better,” said Kendra. “I had to give her some Muggle medicine. She refused to take the pepper-up potion.”

“Don’t worry,” he mouthed quietly. “I’ll get her to take it.”

Kendra gave him an appreciative smile.

“Thanks darling,” she said softly. “You always know what to do. I’ll fetch the potion, and once she is settled down, we’ll have a talk downstairs. You must tell me about school.”

“Sure, mother,” said Aberforth.

Kendra left the room to fetch the potion.

Aberforth sat on the bed beside his sister, and she immediately snuggled up to him.

“Abe…” she said softly. There was the slight trace of a cold in her voice. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her closer to him. “Want me to braid your hair?”

“Yes,” she said. “I always liked you braiding it. You knew what I liked.”

“Of course I know what you liked, silly. I’m your brother,” he said fondly, as he smoothed out her soft silky hair. “What colour would like your ribbon to be this time, darling?”

“Any colour you choose for me is nice,” she said softly.

“Well,” he said slowly, “let’s use a blue one, shall we? It’ll bring out the colour of your eyes.”

She nodded, and he fetched the ribbon from her small dressing table.

He had to resort to the Muggle way of doing things when he was around his sister. She is too scared and sensitive to magic, and would react strangely when she sensed the presence of magic around her.

He was just putting the finishing touches on the braid when he heard a loud crash. It seemed to have come from the old tool shed at the bottom of the garden, where most of his father’s unfinished inventions were kept.

He heard his mother’s muffled cry of surprise, and the shattering of glass. His mother must have dropped the vial of potion she was holding as a result of the shock.

Ariana sprang up from the bed in surprise, the unfinished braid coming lose. She let out a terrified scream. Her hair started to fly madly around her, and Aberforth could feel her magic getting out of control.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he coaxed her, his heart beating franticly. His sister could not have another of those random burst of magic so soon. The last one that she had nearly killed her.

Ariana screamed again, backing away from him. Her gaze was unfocused, and there was a mad glint in her blue eyes.

He knew that any moment soon, it will happened. He could not let it happen, not if he could help it.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said softly, approaching her cautiously. “It’s probably a cat. Come here, sweetheart. Don’t you trust me? I’m not going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you, I promise.”

He could feel her calming slightly, as she took a tentative step towards him.

“That’s right,” he coaxed gently. “Good girl. Now, breathe. Breathe in, that’s right, good girl. Breathe out now. Repeat, breathe in, breathe out.”

She started to calm down after a few moments, and he walked towards her. He gathered her into his arms. Tremours still rocked her body, but he could feel her magic receding into her body. That was definitely a welcoming sign.

“Let’s tuck you up nicely,” he said gently, stroking her hair. She pressed close to him.

“Come now,” he said as he carried her towards the bed and tucked her under the covers. He held her hand as she drifted off to sleep, mumbling to herself.

His heart twanged with pain as he heard what she said.

“Not a witch” No, I’m not! I’m not…”

“No, not a witch, definitely not a witch. You’re a princess, my dear little princess,” he said softly, squeezing her cool hand.

She smiled softly at him, as her eyelids fluttered close.

He left her when he was sure that she was fast asleep. He closed the door softly behind him and rushed downstairs, eager to investigate the source of the crash.

He heard his mother’s frantic cries as he neared the garden shed.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she sounded frantic and panicked. “What to do?”

“What happened, mother?” he said, as he stepped into the shed. “Sorry, I couldn’t come sooner. Ariana almost had another of those outbursts.”

“Oh dear,” said Kendra. “Is she…”

“She’s all right. I managed to calm her. She’s sleeping now…” he could not finished what he wanted to say, for at that moment, his vision landed on the source of his mother’s distress.

A figure laid face down on the floor of the shed. Judging by the unruly mane of bushy brown hair, he gathered that it was a girl. She had probably fainted, judging by her limp form. Her right arm jutted out at an odd angle, and she was clutching something tightly in her left hand. Shards of broken glass and glittering golden sand surrounded her. Probably she had crashed into one of the shelves in the shed, as several of his father’s unfinished inventions were scattered everywhere around the floor, and one of the shelves was overturned.

“What shall I do? I dare not move her, as I’m scared that she might have broken bones,” Kendra’s frantic voice roused him.

“How did it happened?” he asked, still unable to hide his surprise and shock. His gaze was still fixed on the figure of the girl. Her attire was most interesting; he had never seen anything like that before. She was wearing a dress, which was clearly considered an eyesore in this time. It was too short, and reached just below her thighs, and instead of the normal heels worn by ladies of this time, she was wearing strange shoes with rubber soles which he had never seen before.

“I don’t know,” said Kendra. “When I heard the crash, I ran out to investigate, and found her in this condition.”

“Let’s bring her indoors,” he suggested. “Maybe you should conjure a stretcher, mother. That way, we won’t risk hurting her.”

“Right,” said Kendra, taking out her wand. “How silly of me. I should’ve thought of that, but I’m clearly not in the right mind just now, what with your sister’s condition last night.”

“Don’t worry, mother. I’ll help you,” he said, looking at his mother’s tired and strained expression sadly. He knew that she was always worrying about Ariana’s condition, and she had tried to make the best of the situation by trying to handle everything herself, as she refused to burden her two sons.

“Right,” said Kendra, getting down to business. “Let’s do this.”

Kendra conjured a stretcher, and gently, both of them levitated the girl onto it. She was not too heavy, which made their task of carrying her up the garden path quite easy.

The stretcher was lowered onto the living room floor, and Kendra enlarged the leather couch near the fireplace, before levitating the girl onto it.

Kendra moved her wand along the girl’s body, muttering various diagnostic spells. She was quite adept at healing.

“Dear me,” she said as she completed her examination. “How interesting.”

Aberforth remained silent, giving him mother a questioning glance.

“Only a few broken bones in her right arm, and a deep cut on her chest. It seemed to be made by something round. I just need to remove the jagged pieces of glass from the cut, before healing it,”” said Kendra. “But, what bothers me is the amount of damage her magical core has suffered. She was cursed with various dark spells.”

“Strange,” said Abeforth quietly. “Do you think that she was escaping from someone, mother?”

“Probably,” said Kendra. “But what I couldn’t understand is how she managed to apparate into our garden shed. I know that I’ve not removed the protective wards around the shed since I put them up when we first moved here.”

Kendra started to clean the girl’s wound as she speaks. Blood had soaked through the front of her dress, and Kendra slowly unbuttoned the dress and sponged away the blood on her dress before starting healing the wound. Abeforth saw that the cut had a peculiar round shape. He thought he had seen that shape somewhere before, but he could not recall where he had seen it at that moment.

“There,” Kendra said, banishing jagged pieces of glass, as she healed the wound. Owing to her adeptness, the wound was healed in no time, with only a faint scar remaining on the girl’s skin.

“I couldn’t remove that scar,” said Kendra. “It seemed that the object which cut into her was a powerful magical one.”

Aberforth smiled fondly at his mother. She was always the best healer in his opinion, but not as accomplished as Albus. At seventeen, Albus was the most accomplished wizard of his time. He could exploit and apply various branches of magic as easily as he learned them.

No, he should not think of Albus now.

“And what’s this?” Kendra said in alarm, as she examined the girl’s left arm.

Aberforth could tell that there was something wrong with the girl’s arm instantly.

Something was carved into her arm. It looked like a word. He could not make it out from where he was sitting.

Kendra’s face turned pale. Aberforth looked at his mother in concern.

“She has been attacked by very dark wizards indeed,” said Kendra, sounding stricken. “The word carved into her arm was ‘Mudblood’.”

“What?” Aberforth almost fell out of his chair. “Yes, dark wizards indeed. Those who were extremely prejudiced against Muggle-borns. This is terrible, mother.”

“Yes, and what makes this worse is that it’s carved using a cursed knife or dagger,” said Kendra. “So, I can’t do anything about it.”

Aberforth sighed sadly.

“Well, you had done the best for her. Let’s wait for her to regain consciousness. Then, we can question her thoroughly,” he said.

“Yes,” said Kendra, as she gently put down the girl’s arm. As she did so, they heard a sharp intake of breath, and a soft whimper.

“Is she coming around?” asked Aberforth, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“No…” said Kendra distractedly. “Probably she’s in pain. I might’ve overlooked something.”

She was pulling up the long sleeve of the girl’s dress, and gazing at something.

With a startled cry, Kendra picked up her wand, and jabbed it franticly at the long sleeve, which ripped away, exposing the girl’s shoulders.

Aberforth quickly turned away in embarrassment.

“Shall I…” he started to say, but his mother’s voice stopped him.

“No, stay here. This is serious!” she said, bending down and examining something on the girl’s shoulder blade.

Hearing the alarm in his mother’s voice, Aberforth turned around to take a closer look.

His mouth dropped open in horror.

Lodged deeply in the girl’s left shoulder blade was a ring. It was not a pretty ring, just an ugly black ring, probably worn on a stubby finger. It was lodged tightly in the girl’s skin, and as hard as Kendra tried, she could not pull it out. Aberforth could tell that it was a cursed ring. The skin around the area where the ring was lodged started to turn black.

“It’s a cursed ring,” said Kendra. “I dare not removed it, for fear of damaging her magical core further. Once I pulled it out, all the magic will probably be sucked out of her due to her weakness to fight the curse in the ring. She might not live through the ordeal.”

“Couldn’t you contain the curse?” asked Aberforth, sounding worried. This was not looking good at all.

“I can try to contain it, but it would be merely to slow it down from spreading. This area,” said Kendra, pointing to the blackened skin, “has already been infected.”

“What shall we do?” asked Aberforth.

Kendra pondered for a moment.

“Get your brother, Aberforth,” she said finally. “I think he knows what to do. I remembered he helped poor old Mrs. Scamander removing a cursed arrow from one of her unicorns. He prevented the curse from spreading as well. Let’s hope he can handle this situation.”

Aberforth nodded. Of course, Albus would be the ideal person to deal with this. Although he was currently not on speaking terms with his brother following a row a few weeks ago, he had to do this. He could see that his mother was keen to save the girl, and the girl was probably an innocent soul, who should be saved.

“Hurry, Aberforth. There’s no time to lose,” said Kendra, as she summoned various vials from the kitchen and started to tip them into the girl’s open mouth with one hand, whilst she moved her wand in complicated patterns with her other had around the girl’s cursed arm.

Hence, swallowing his pride, he grabbed a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fire. Once flames turned green, he stepped into the fireplace and said in a clear voice: “Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers,
> 
> Chapter 3 is finally done!
> 
> Apologies for the slow update; I had a busy schedule for the past two weeks.
> 
> Thank you to those who have reviewed. Your reviews and kudos meant a lot to me; it serves as motivation and encouragement for me to continue this story.
> 
> This chapter was rather difficult to write, as I try to write in in various persons' POVs, in order for you to understand the characters better and getting to know them. Please tell me whether this style of writing is preferable.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Warning for this chapter: you will see a dark and manipulative young Dumbledore. The Dumbledore portrayed in my story is a young individual with mixed emotions. He mostly felt bitterness as a result of his family turmoil. However, his character will improve as the story progresses. If you have problems accepting this version of Dumbledore, perhaps you may want to ignore this chapter.
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, feedback is appreciated. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, or at the very least, maybe try leaving a Kudos? XD
> 
> Cheers  
> xxx LadyMeropeRiddle xxx

Chapter 2

2nd May 1899

“Congratulations, Albus!”

Elphias Doge clapped his long-standing friend on the back proudly.

“Every wizard would give up anything to be in your place now,” Elphias continued excitedly, “A six months of apprenticeship with the famous alchemist, Nicholas Flamel! Impressive, truly impressive!”

Albus Dumbledore smiled at his friend, feeling bored. Elphias could be quite irritating sometimes, always trying to praise him and get on his good side. Albus could not blame his friend; no one wanted to befriend the boy with dragon pox, except Albus himself. Doge’s world evolved around Albus when he was at Hogwarts. Without Albus, he was nothing. At least other students respected him greatly and admired him, for he managed to befriend one of the most accomplished students that Hogwarts had ever had.

Looking back, he found that he was probably too hasty and naïve back then when he befriended Elphias. When he was eleven, Albus was a quiet and kind boy full of compassion. He had reached out to Elphias seven years ago on the Hogwarts Express, seeing his pitiful condition. However, as he grew older, Albus realised that he should not have acted so irrationally back then. After all, he was the great Albus Dumbledore now, and he could probably do better with people who were more influential in the wizarding world to improve his career prospects in the future.

But, Elphias was quite useful in some ways. He was Albus’ guinea pig, to put it simply. Albus always like to explore various branches of magic, extending and developing them further by stretching their boundaries. He usually used Elphias to test out new potions he made to cure dragon pox, which currently had no cure. As Elphias was always eager to get better and he trusted Albus, persuading him to be the tester of the potions was not difficult at all. Albus knew which buttons to push and manipulate a person once he put his mind to it.

Nonetheless, Albus could not help taking a liking to Elphias. He was always kind and understanding, and listened attentively to Albus’ family problems. Albus only confided his family’s problems to Elphias; he needed that release, or else he will probably go mad. Having to live with a family like his was very stressful and difficult. Elphias always gave Albus excellent advice and Albus liked him for this. Elphias was also a trustworthy person; hence Albus had no worries that his friend will spread rumours about his family to the wizarding community.

Students threw both of them admiring stares as both of them climbed the moving staircases to the seventh floor, where the Gryfindor commonroom was situated. Some of them nudged each other’s, pointed at Albus and whispered amongst themselves, discussing his accomplishments.

“When will you start your apprenticeship, Albus?” he heard Elphias asked. They were walking towards the Gryfindor commonroom now.

“After our grand tour,” said Albus cheerfully. He was in a good mood today, and he decided to indulge Elphias a little. “You don’t think I have forgotten my promise?”

“Oh,” said Elphias, beaming at Albus. “Well, to be honest, I thought you will probably choose to abandon our plans to prepare for your apprenticeship. After all…”

“Don’t be silly,” said Albus before Elphias could continue. They are now standing in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait. “You know I’ll never go back on my promise, my dear friend.”

Albus caught the flicker of relief on Elphias’ face. Elphias was like an open book; Albus had no trouble discerning his emotions.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” said Elphias. “Now, where do you want to celebrate tonight? The Three Broomsticks? I’ll buy you a glass of mead to celebrate your latest success.”

Albus was just about to reply, when someone called his name in a quiet voice. He turned and saw his brother standing awkwardly behind him with a frantic expression on his face.

His expression darkened. He had not been in a good relationship with his brother lately. He avoided his brother as best as possible. Talking to Aberforth brought back unpleasant memories, which he refused to delve into.

Sensing the tension between the two brothers, Elphias decided to interpose.

“Oh, hi Aberforth!” Elphias exclaimed, smiling at Aberforth. “Have you heard the good news? Albus just…”

“What do you want, Aberforth?” Albus said coldly, cutting Elphias off. “I’m busy.”

His brother’s expression did not alter. In a monotonous voice, he said: “Come with me. This is urgent.”

“Aberforth, if this is about her…” he started to said, but his brother cut him off.

“No, this is another matter. I wouldn’t want to bother you with anything concerning her,” Aberforth spat out the last two words venomously. “Sorry for ruining your big moment, by the way.”

Aberforth did not know that his remarks had hurt Albus’ feelings. It had always been difficult communicating with Aberforth. They used to be close when they were kids, but after their sister’s so-called mishap, the distance which separated them seemed like a million miles.

Aberforth had always been cold towards Albus since then. They could barely stay in the same room for long, as an argument will broke out between them before they knew it. If they happened to be in the same place at the same time, they barely spoke to one another. They tried to act civil in front of their mother. They avoided heated arguments in her presence. She had enough on her hands without her two sons throwing daggers at each other, thank you very much.

Hence, Albus tried not to care about anything else. He tried to show Aberforth that he did not care about their current situation. Let Aberforth think about him as a selfish and self-centred individual; he did not care about his brother’s perception. He immersed himself in his studies; he wanted to change the wizarding world’s mind-set, so that individuals like his sister could have a better status in their world in the future. Abeforth would not understand him; he only thinks of the present, not the future. He only knows how to indulge in the problem and trying to make the best out of the situation, instead of finding a solution to it. Albus had decided long ago that he will do his utmost best to succeed in his life goal. This is the way he showed that he cared; he cared deeply about his sister and loved her very much.

“Well? Are you coming or not?” Aberforth snapped, losing his patience.

Albus calmed himself by taking a deep breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. A headache was developing. He hated to deal with Aberforth when his brother was unreasonable.

“Well, better make it quick then,” Albus said emotionlessly, signalling for Elphias to leave them alone. Tactfully, Elphias gave the password to the Fat Lady, and entered the commonroom, waving to Albus.

“See you later, mate,” he mouthed.

Albus nodded at his friend and turned to follow his brother.

Albus followed his brother leisurely. He was sure that it was something to do with Ariana, but Aberforth was just trying to mess with his feelings. Aberforth always tried to make it sound that Albus did not care about their sister, which in fact he did.

Albus was so immersed in his thoughts that he had reached the Headmaster’s office without realising it.

Aberforth pushed open the door, nodded curtly to the Headmaster, who was perusing some documents at his large mahogany desk, and rushed towards the fireplace. Seizing a handful of Floo Powder, he dumped it into the fireplace, and stepped into the fire when the flames turned green. He was out of sight within seconds.

“Well?” asked the Headmaster, nodding curtly at Albus. Albus could sense the dislike radiating from Phineas Nigellus Black. It was rumoured that the Headmaster had a huge prejudice against other houses, in particular Gryfindor house. Hence, it was no surprise that Albus, who was a Gryfindor, would be treated coldly by the Headmaster.

“I request permission to return to my home, sir,” said Albus, looking directly at the Headmaster. He sounded assured and confident. “My family requested my presence for an emergency, as my brother, Aberforth had no doubt explained earlier, sir.”

“How long?” the Headmaster asked.

“I have no idea, sir,” said Albus. He was not lying. Ariana’s condition may be worse off this time, hence he may need to stay a little longer to help out his mother. The thought made his spirits low. Yes, he was indeed still convincing that this emergency had something to do with his sister’s condition.

“Two days, Mr. Dumbledore,” the Headmaster drawled lazily, without looking up from the documents he was reading. “Surely, you would understand that it is not prudent for the Head Boy of the school to take a longer leave of absence than it is necessary, to attend to family emergencies. Something might happen while you are away, and I daresay that you have a great responsibility to ensure that the students of this castle are well protected and well look after.”

“Indeed, sir. I give you my word that I will endeavour to settle this matter as fast as possible, and return to the castle in two days’ time,” said Albus. He was really not in the mood to act smart in front of the Headmaster at this point, for it will be useless. Once prejudice, always prejudice.

“Very well,” said the Headmaster. “You may leave now.”

“Thank you sir,” albus said quietly.

Bracing himself to face the worse, Albus let out a deep breath and stepped into the fireplace.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The first thing that Albus heard when he removed himself from the fireplace was his mother’s frantic voice.

“I don’t think I can contain it any longer, Aberforth. It’s spreading now, look. Where’s your brother?”

He heard Aberforth’s reply as he dusted himself off. Travelling through the Floo network was really a nuisance. He absolutely hated it. It made him sick.

“There,” said Aberforth, pointing towards Albus. “He just arrived.”

Kendra beckoned urgently to her eldest son.

“Albus, come here! Quick!”

Albus closed his eyes as he made his way towards his mother. He is not ready for this. He gathered that Ariana had been hit by something nasty, which was rapidly spreading. His heart thumped madly as he reached the place where his mother and Aberforth were standing. He could not face this now. His sister could not die now; his plans for her had not been put into action yet.

“What happened?” he asked as he slowly opened his eyes. “Is Ariana…”

“I told you this has nothing to do with Ariana,” Aberforth snapped angrily. Albus could detect a slight trace of urgency in his brother’s voice behind his anger.

Bracing himself, he focused his gaze on the limp figure on the couch.

The girl was definitely not Ariana.

After taking one look at her condition, Albus rushed to his mother’s side. For some strange reason, it hurt him so much to see her; stretched out forlornly on the couch. From the looks of it, she had been hit by very dark curses.

“What happened?” he asked urgently. “Who is she?”

“We have no idea about her identity. She was found in this condition in the garden shed. Her magical core was seriously damaged. I detected that she had been attacked by various dark curses. And there is this as well,” said his mother, holding up the girl’s left arm.

“The garden shed?” he asked in surprise. “But how…”

“Never mind about that now,” said Kendra. “Look at this.”

She gestured towards a particular spot.

His gaze travelled up the girl’s arm. His breath caught when he saw the words etched onto her skin. Someone had branded her for what she is: a Muggle-born.

“Who did that to her?” he asked in a disgusted voice. He could not bear such prejudice against Muggle-borns, although he did not like them. Yes, Albus Dumbledore truly despised Muggles. It was Muggles after all, who had caused his sister to suffer as long as she lived. Magical or not, Albus did not feel kindly towards Muggles. He had vowed not to associate with any Muggles at all as long as he lived.

However, this girl was a different case. The prejudice against her made her vulnerable in Albus’ eyes, and he was always ready to extend a helping hand to vulnerable individuals. He told himself that he only did this out of sympathy and good will, for she was an innocent life who is not worth losing. The circumstances of her arrival at his home were puzzling and curious, but he would dwell on that later.

Albus was jolted from his thoughts by his mother’s voice.

“We don’t know who branded her with this terrible word. It was done with a cursed object. I tried to remove it, but I couldn’t do so. You know how it is with cursed injuries,” Kendra said.

Albus looked away from the gruesome word, focusing his gaze further up the girl’s left arm. His gaze landed on the ring lodged in the skin around the girl’s shoulder blade. The skin around the area was already blackened, and he could see that it was spreading rapidly.

His spirits sank. This was not good at all.

“A cursed ring,” said Kendra. “I dare not remove it, as I feared that it’ll damage her magical core further and kill her. She’s rather weak now.”

“Do something,” urged Aberforth. “I know you can help her.”

He stood there, his gaze focusing on the girl. The gears in his brain started to turn rapidly. This was a risky thing to do. Of course he knew what to do; he had tried it once on a unicorn, but never on a human being. Unicorns are considered quite strong, and healed rather quickly, but he was not so sure in this case. The girl was so weak; he could literally feel her magic draining away from her body. She was breathing shallowly, with gasps of pain in between. She might not live through this.

“I don’t know whether this’ll work,” he said slowly, gazing at both his mother and his brother. “Are both of you prepared to trust me and take this risk? I can’t promise that it’ll be successful, as I never tried this on a human being before.”

There was a long pause, as both of them contemplated on their decision.

“Let’s take this chance,” said Kendra. “I trust that you will do your best for this young lady, Albus.”

Aberforth nodded, but remained silent.

“All right,” said Albus. “Thank you for believing in me.”

He waved his wand hurriedly, levitating a stool towards the couch. His mother moved out of the way as he sat down on the stool.

“Both of you would need to help me here,” said Albus, sounding serious. “Time is of the essence.”

“Just tell us what to do,” said Kendra.

“First, I’ll need to test the extent of the damage suffered by her magical core,” he said, taking hold of the girl’s right hand. He held her wrist, and focusing as hard as he could, he closed his eyes and tapped into her magical core.

At first, he could not feel anything. He could only feel the weak flutter of her unsteady pulse. But then, he feels it. He was rather surprised to find that her magical core was quite strong. She was quite a powerful witch, despite her blood status. He at once found further reasons to justify helping her. He could be of use to him in his future plans. Perhaps both of them could join forces in bringing his ideology into reality. Surely, she will understand him, given the prejudice which she had endured.

Magic flowed through her body peacefully, like the smooth tides of a river. Her energy level was rather surprising; she used quite a lot of her energy to channel her inner core.

He concentrated harder and prodded deeper into her core. It should be somewhere. He should be able to find the damage soon. He could not fail to do so, as this was just the first stage.

He finally felt it. Unsteady and broken threads of magic at the heart of her core. Dark magic pulsed through these threads; it rippled dangerously like a fast-flowing tide who was spinning fast. It was about to get out of control. He must stop the flow of the magic before it lashed outwards, affecting the other layers of magic. Her core will be damaged beyond repair if this happened.

Kendra and Aberforth shivered as they felt the dark magic pulsing around the room as Albus tapped into the girl’s damaged core.

Taking a deep breath, Albus channelled part of his magic into the girl’s weak body. Her body tried to repel his strands of magic at first. Not surprising as witches and wizard with powerful magical cores can usually repel foreign magic. He advanced slowly, drawing deeper into her magic, trying his best to combine his strands of magic with hers. He needs this to work before he could proceed further. Her magic need to accept his in order for this to work.

Finally, after seemed like eternity, he heaved a sigh of relief, as their magic blended. Her outer layers of magic responded to him as he could feel her magic absorbing his, creating a stronger thread of magic which flowed throughout her body.

“Mother, I need you to cast the spell you used to calm Ariana down and put her into a deep sleep for at least ten hours,” said Albus, as he checked the girl’s pulse. “The next step may be painful, and I cannot risk her struggling. It may kill her if she do so.”

“What will you do after that?” asked Aberforth.

“Well, I need to try and trap the curse back into the ring and contain it there before removing it,” said Albus. “Less chance of damaging her core this way.”

“Will this be dangerous?” asked Aberforth, sounding worried.

“Yes,” said Albus, “I already merge her magic with my own, so that her body will be prepared to fight the curse, in the event that it backfired.”

“Wouldn’t this affect your core?” Kendra asked. “According to my detection, the curse is a very dark one.”

“We’ll have to chance it,” said Albus. “I did this before with the unicorn. It’s not a big deal, I’ll be fine once I take a good rest after this.”

Kendra stepped forward and leaned over the girl. She placed the tip of her wand on the girl’s forehead and moved it in circles, as she chanted quietly: “Pacemo tranquillitus somnus.”

Albus sensed the girl’s pulse beating more regularly now, as her breathing became deep, even and relaxed.

“Good,” said Albus, moving into position. He placed the tip of his wand on the girl’s left shoulder. “Stand back, both of you. This may be dangerous. Do not attempt to intervene in any way.”

Kendra and Aberforth moved to lean on the opposite wall of the living room, throwing worried glances in his direction.

“Trust me,” said Albus, trying to sound confident. “She’ll be fine.”

Anxiety was building at the pit of his stomach. He simply could not fail now. He could not forgive himself if this did not work out as he had planned. Once Albus Dumbledore had committed himself to a particular cause, he would ensure that he succeeds. He would not tolerate failure, as it would be a great weakness.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tapped into her core again. He was glad to find that the outer layers of her magical core were stronger. He prodded deeper until he reached the heart of her core. He found it without difficulty. He could feel the dark magic bubbling madly inside her, begging to be released anytime. He had to trap it before it was released.

He managed to do that in a few seconds, which was better than he had expected. He channelled all his magic towards achieving this goal, guiding the threads of dark magic slowly but deftly back to its source. The ring readily absorbed the dark magic, for it was the host of the dark curse. A black mist surrounded the girl now, as strands of dark magic crackled madly in the air, as the ring absorbed more of the dark magic.

Albus felt tired suddenly. This had taken a greater toll on him than he had expected, but he was not ready to give up. He was almost there. He could definitely make it. He could save the girl.

With the tip of his wand still firmly pressed against the girl’s left shoulder, Albus stood up; his legs felt heavy and wobbly, but he ignored it.

“Destroy the ring immediately once I managed to pull it out,” said Albus to his mother. “It may try to lash on to me instead. Try to prevent this from happening.”

Kendra stood beside him, her wand poised and ready. Albus knew that he could always count on his mother; she had never failed him before.

Deftly, he reached into his pocket and closed his fingers over one of his latest inventions. It was a magical dagger, but instead of a sharp tip, its end was shaped like a hook. This was a dagger specially designed to remove cursed objects. He designed it after saving the unicorn, as he had experienced unpleasant things the first time he touched a cursed object with his fingers when saving the unicorn, which almost damaged his core, which, of course, he kept from his mother and brother.

“One of my inventions,” he said simply, as Aberforth looked at him questioningly when he produced the dagger.

He bent forward and positioned the hook over the ring, whilst his wand trace complicated patterns over the girl’s skin. He needs to prevent her wound from bursting open when he removed the ring. She could not afford to lose more blood at this stage.

The dagger pulsed madly with dark magic as it came into contact with the ring. Albus could feel the dark magic seeping through the protection wards he had incorporated into the dagger, breaking through them swiftly and easily. With one deft movement, he removed the ring. The black mist around the room thickened. Albus could feel the last of the wards crumbling in the dagger. It would lash onto him soon, like a parasite seeking something to feed on, and he could not let this happen. He tried to resist it with his magic. However, his magical core was already strained to breaking point by the amount of energy which he had channelled into the girl’s body.

His vision started to blur and his head started to pound. There was a buzzing in his ears, as he feels the dark energy trying to lash onto him.

Then, he faintly saw his mother raising her wand.

He heard a shattering crack as the dagger flew out of his hands and hit the floor and disintegrated into tiny shards.

And then, it was all over.

The girl’s wounds did not burst open at all, definitely a good sign. The skin around the area where the ring was previously embedded was turning into its normal colour again. The girl was less paler than she was before.

“You did it, Albus dear,” he heard his mother’s voice. It seemed to be coming from a distance. He was having trouble focusing; things were spinning madly around him. He had strained his core, and it was now taking a toll on him.

“She will be all right now,” he said weakly.

That was the last thing he said before he fainted.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Gellert Grindelwald was really pissed off.

His day had not been a good one.

To begin with, he had received another warning letter from Karkeroff, informing him that if he was caught practicing extremely dark magic in the school again, he would be expelled from Durmstrang without another thought.

Gellert ignored the warning. Karkeroff was really a nuisance, and Gellert wished to strangle him sometimes. He was narrow-minded and unwilling to explore the boundaries of magic further. He was contented with basic dark magic, which was essentially the curriculum at the institute.

To make his day worse, Karkeroff’s youngest granddaughter had cornered him after his last class and told him the most terrible news.

Ida Karkeroff was a beautiful thing. She was dark and tall, with all the right curves at the right places. Her black eyes were like deep pools of liquid, and he was sometimes mesmerised by gazing into them. She was a wild child and always flirting. Since she was the only female student at Durmstrang (which was technically a boys’ school), as her grandfather had no wish for her to be educated in other magical wizarding schools around the globe, she knew how to spice things up. Rumours had it that she had slept with most of the students at Durmstrang. However, she was not his cup of tea at all. Although she had tried countless times to flirt with him, he ignored her, waving her off with a polite smile, but she never gave up. He could not blame her, as he knew that he was one of the most good-looking male at Durmstrang.

However, his game plan had changed three months ago. That was the first time he was publicly berated by Karkeroff in front of the whole school for experimenting with dark magic. Karkeroff had punished him in front of everyone, which further pissed him off. Since then, he was no longer the teachers’ pet. He no longer held a place in the hearts of his teachers at the school who always admired his abilities. Other students had stopped associating with him, following Karkeroff’s advice. In no time at all, Gellert had become the most unpopular student at Durmstrang Institute.

It was then that he took his revenge on Karkeroff. He started to acknowledge Ida Karkeroff’s attempts to flirt with him; he encouraged her to go on. He started to date her, and displayed his affection in public. Karkeroff was pissed, of course, but he could not do anything about it. His granddaughter was a spoilt child and used to get everything she wanted; no one in her family dared to deny her anything, and Karkeroff knew that his reputation will be ruined if his family members found out that he tried to stop his grandchild from dating a mere schoolboy, which was indeed a silly thing to do.

Karkeroff kept a close look-out, in case Gellert disobeyed any school rules. It would be a good excuse to get rid of him. Gellert was careful in his moves; he made sure that he left no trails behind when he experimented.

In no time at all, he seduced Ida Karkerofff. He bedded her, and was shocked to learn that she remained a virgin. He was technically the first one to make love with her.

“I want this to be special,” she had murmured in his ear, after their love-making session. “It can’t just be anyone.”

And he learned today that he had made a great mistake back then.

Ida Karkeroff actually told him that she was five weeks pregnant with his child.

“Didn’t you like the surprise, darling?” she had asked him, leaning into him and planting a soft kiss on his lips. “Let’s get married. We’ll be very happy. I’m sure grandfather will be thrilled to have you in the family.”

Getting over his shock, he had gathered her in his arms and they had made love in her bedchamber. Merely to take his mind off things.

He had no intention of marrying her, of course. It was merely a scheme to piss Karkeroff off, nothing more. He needs to plan how to get out of this predicament, and he must act fast.

Finally, he settled on telling her that he need to plan this carefully, and begged her not to tell her family anything.

“Let’s just wait for a while, my dear,” he said in his most gentle and persuasive voice. “You know that I’m the most unpopular student at the school. I’m afraid that your grandfather disapproved of me. No, don’t try to argue, Ida, just listen to me, will you? I need to work this out properly. You know I really love you, didn’t you? Trust me, give me some time, all right? I promise that everything will be worked out in the end. I need some time to learn how to be a good father.”

She believed him, of course. He hoped that he would be able to formulate a plan to get rid of Ida Karkeroff and the child soon. They would certainly hinder his plan of world domination, and he could not allow this to happen.

To add to his burden, he received a letter from his Aunt Betty, inviting him to tea. That fool of a woman was always depending on him to solve her problems, and he despised her. However, as she was his only living relative, he always helped her out in the end. After all, he was scared that he will lose his inheritance if he did not do so. His aunt was unpredictable; she could be his friend at times and a total stranger who would be cold and distant at other times when she felt that he was not helpful. He hated having to suck up to her, but he had no choice for now. She was the first person that he will definitely eliminate once he achieves his goal of world domination.

Hence, trying to control his anger, he apparated to her home, plastering a fake smile on his face as he knocked on her front door.

However, he soon found out that his Aunt Betty’s problem could be a great advantage to him. To think that she had a time turner stashed away all this time and that she was using it all the time to travel back in time to complete her book!

That old woman really knows how to keep a secret, it seemed. He had never known about this when he was staying with her the last time. She certainly knows various good hiding places, and he did not seemed as stupid as he thought.

A plan started to develop in his clever scheming brain. The time turner was the key to his plan of getting rid of Ida Karkeroff. He could travel back in time several times, and change his game plan. He was definitely going to ignore her attempts to date him. He would need to figure out another way to get back at Karkeroff without using his granddaughter as a pawn. He was confident that he was able to do this.

He will help his aunt willingly this time, and he endeavours to succeed. He simply could not fail. He would borrow the time turner when he recovered it from the thief to carry out his plan, before returning it to his aunt. He would try to buy some time by telling her that this was a difficult task, which was actually part of the truth, and that he need more time. He may even persuade the thief of the time turner to join forces with him, as the thief was certainly a clever one, judging by the way he left no traces after the theft. He may even recruit him as his partner to further his goal of world domination if he found him to be a worthy one.

No one will get in his way. Gellert Grindelwald will be one of the greatest wizards of his time one day in the future, for he is unstoppable and indestructible.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Pain.

That was the first thing Hermione felt when she came to her senses.

Her body felt like it was on fire; hot searing pain seized her, and she gasped. She was burning up, and she found it difficult to breathe. She felt as though a thousand needles were pricking her body; her bones felt like they were going to break anytime soon. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy.

Her mouth felt dry. She needed some water.

She wondered what had happened. Was she in hell now? How could death be so painful? Didn’t Dumbledore once say that: “Death is nothing but the next great adventure”? This was certainly no adventure for her.

She tried to move her lips, but she could not utter a sound. She wished the torture will be over soon.

She felt something soft touched her forehead. Something cool was pressed against her body at the same time. It was soothing. She really needed to cool down. Her body felt too hot.

She basked in the comfort for a few minutes. She felt her body temperature started to drop, and she started to relax. She could breathe more easily now, and the pain in her body was subsiding too.

At last, she thought. Was the torture finally over? Is she moving on to another stage of the “so-called” adventure now? This part certainly felt great; Dumbledore did not lie, after all. At least, this was one of the things he never lied about. However, he did lie; he lied every time when Harry was concerned, didn’t he?

She really needed a drink. She tried to open her mouth, but no sound came out. She heard herself let out a pitiful croak.

She felt nothing at first. Then, something pressed against her dry and cracked lips. She felt something tipping into her mouth.

Ah, cold water. She could taste it now. It was sweet, fresh and cool. She gulped it down hurriedly. The thing pressed against her lips must be the rim of a water goblet. She felt some of the water sloshing down her front, but she did not care. She was too thirsty.

She needed more water. She was still thirsty. She was about to open her mouth to ask for another goblet of water when she faintly heard a gurgling sound. She was taken by surprise by the sudden slosh of water down her front a few seconds later.

Of course, the water goblet was a magical one; the water refilled itself once it was consumed by her. She gladly gulped it down.

When she had had enough, she tried to raise her hand to remove the goblet, but her arm felt too heavy. As if sensing her thought, she felt the goblet being removed by something, or someone. She was not sure, as her eyelids were still too heavy to open.

Then, hot air blew across against her body, drying her dress which was probably soaked by the water.

She felt calm and relaxed now. Maybe other good things are coming her way. She felt safe and warm.

She felt someone tucking her in gently, placing a blanket of some sort around her.

This was heaven, she thought. Nothing could hurt her here, not even Umbridge. She was safe, wasn’t she?

Maybe she will see Harry here too. Maybe Ron would join them, and all of them will be reunited. The golden trio were inseparable, after all.

She sighed contentedly and burrowed deeper into the blanket.

She felt the tip of a wand pressed softly against a forehead, but she did not care. The tip moved in a circular pattern, and she heard a soft chant of some spell. So, it was a someone after all, not something. Someone had taken care of her. Probably an angel. For some reason, the voice sounded familiar, but she could not place it. She was sure that she had heard it somewhere, but her brain refused to co-operate in identifying it. She was too tired to think.

Wait, she thought. Did angels even exist? Well, she never know, the back of her brain chided. After all, everything was possible. The Deathly Hallows was definitely not a myth after all.

She needed to make sure that she was not dreaming. If she could just hold on to something that would confirm that she was safe now…

Tentatively, she lifted her hand with a great effort, and groped blindly around her. For a while, she felt nothing, just the cool air around her. She must be in a room somewhere in heaven. No doubt about it.

Then, her fingers closed against something warm and soft. It was a hand; a warm hand of a very much alive person. She could feel the muscles in the hand tense as she gripped it tightly.

No, this could not be heaven. Could she have survived Umbridge’s killing curse? She was definitely still alive. After all, she had the time turner, didn’t she? Was she saved by someone? Was she in a different time?

She tightened her grip on the hand. She could feel the muscles relaxing after a short while. Then, she felt long and slender fingers closing over her own small hand. She felt a warm and reassuring squeeze.

She was safe after all. That could not be an enemy.

That was her last thought before she drifted off into a dreamless and peaceful sleep.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Albus felt much better after resting for a few hours. Thanks to his mother’s healing powers, he was back on his feet in no time. Although his core still felt a bit weak, he insisted on helping his mother with household chores. He could still manage simple spells with his wand at this point, and he was glad about it.

All of them, except Ariana, of course, took turns attending to the girl. He had told them that they need to monitor her condition, in case she suffered a relapse or if certain effects of the dark curse.

His mother had took the first shift. She had retired to bed early, as she was tired out by the events of the day. Albus took the second shift, as Aberforth had to prepare dinner for Ariana and attend to her. 

He pulled up a chair beside the couch, and decided to read to pass the time. He could multi-task very well; glancing at the girl and checking her pulse every few minutes and then returning to his book.

His glance occasionally travelled towards the mantelpiece, where a small beaded bag lay. His mother had told him that this was found on the girl. He could see that it was quite light, and he sensed various protective wards around it; rather strong ones in fact. Although curious, he refrained from examining it, as he felt that it would be rude and most improper to do so. Yet, he wondered what she was carrying in the bag. It looked empty.

The girl’s breathing and pulse seemed to be normal for the first hour.

He was about to doze off when he heard shallow and rapid breathing. Rousing himself quickly and laying his book aside, he examined the girl. She was burning up.

This would be one of the side effects of the curse. He should have known that something like this is bound to happen.

He conjured a bucket of water and a towel. He started to sponge her forehead. He summoned a patchwork quilt from his mother’s bedroom. As it soared towards him, he caught it deftly in his left hand.

The girl started to thrash about. He could tell that she was in pain, judging by the small whimpers she made.

He transfigured the quilt into a cooling pad, and pressed it against her body. Her body temperature started to drop after a few minutes, and she was starting to relax.

He removed the cooling pad and transfigure it back into the patchwork quilt.

He heard a faint croak. The girl was obviously thirsty. She was trying to tell him that she need water.

He conjured a crystal goblet and jabbed the tip of his wand into it.

Once the goblet was filled to the brim, he pressed it gently against her lips. Her mouth parted after a while, and she started to gulp down the water greedily. Some of it sloshed down her front.

The goblet refilled itself, and at first, she was not prepared for it. However, she gradually get the hang of it and started to gulp down more of the water.

After a while, he saw her trying to raise her hand. She was trying to remove the goblet, he figured. But, she was not strong enough. Her hand felt limply to her side. Gently, he took it away and banished it with a flick of his wand.

After drying the front of her dress with a hot-air charm, he wrapped the quilt he had transfigured earlier around her, tucking her in gently. She needed to keep warm, he figured.

The girl was calm and relaxed now. He placed the tip of his wand on her forehead, and chanted the spell his mother had used earlier. She need to rest now, and he could tell that her brain was busy working out something, judging by the various expressions on her face: sad smiles, fleeting smiles, frowns, etc. Although he was an accomplished Legilimens, he had no intention to read her thoughts now. He would not hesitate if this was his friend, Elphias. After all, he need to ensure that Elphias was loyal to him and never betray his confidence. No one should ever find out about his family’s horrible and embarrassing secret.

However, he kept telling himself that the girl was an innocent soul, and he should not impose anything on her. Let her keep her thoughts to herself for now. He could easily extract any information he needed from her if necessary.

He was so deep in thought that he was surprised when something cold and clammy gripped his right hand. His muscles tensed. He looked down and found that the girl had reached for his hand.

He relaxed slightly, and closed his hand around her small one. It was cool and smooth. She was no doubt frightened. She must think that she was being harm.

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, which he hoped would convey the message that she was in good hands. He hoped that this would work, as he was inexperienced with girls.

After all, this was the first female that he actually dealt with. Most of his days were spent studying, researching and spending time with Elphias. He had no time for dating any girl at Hogwarts.

He felt her grip loosened as she relaxed. She was asleep after a few minutes.

He sighed, feeling very tired all of a sudden. He tried to let go of the girl’s hand, but she clung on tightly to him. He had no choice but to continue holding hands with her.

It was not so bad after all. Her hand was no longer cold and clammy. It was warm and soft.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He was asleep before he knew it.


End file.
